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Top Document: Electrical Wiring FAQ (Part 2 of 2)
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I'm buying a house! What should I do?
Congratulations. But... It's generally a good idea to hire an inspector to look through the house for hidden gotchas. Not just for wiring, but plumbing and structural as well. If an inspection of the wiring shows no problems or only one or two minor ones, we believe that you can consider the wiring safe (after any minor problems are fixed). If there are signs of problems in many places, we suggest you look elsewhere. Here's some hints on what to look for: Obvious non-code wiring can include: - Zip cord wiring, either concealed or nailed to walls - Hot wiring on the identified (neutral) conductor without proper marking. - Ungrounded grounding outlets (except when downstream of a GFCI) - Splices hanging in mid-air (other than proper knob-and-tube) - Switched neutrals - Unsecured Romex swinging about like grapevines Certain wiring practices that are actually to code (or were at one time) sometimes reveal DIY wiring that may have hidden violations: - Switches that seem to control nothing (abandoned, perhaps not properly terminated wiring) - A wall switch that controls things that you think it shouldn't, for instance mysteriously removing power from lights or outlets in other rooms. - Switches and outlets in bizarre locations - Great numbers of junction boxes without outlets or lamps - Junction boxes with great numbers of wires going into them - Wiring that passes through a closet instead of a wall or ceiling - Backwrapped grounding wires (ground wire wrapped around the incoming cable insulation outside the box). - A breaker or fuse for outside wiring that is near the bottom of the breaker panel or in an add-on fusebox. The outdoor wiring may have been homeowner-installed after the house was built, and was not buried deep enough or was done with the wrong kind of wire - if the wire is visible, check for "UF" or "NMW" markings.
Top Document: Electrical Wiring FAQ (Part 2 of 2)
Previous Document: Aluminum wiring
Next Document: What is this weird stuff? Old style wiring
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clewis@ferret.ocunix.on.ca (Chris Lewis)
Last Update July 09 2008 @ 00:13 AM